


Bully For You

by Musafir



Series: Growing Pains [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Batfamily Feels, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Gen, Protective Bruce Wayne, Protective Jason Todd, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 08:55:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17557265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musafir/pseuds/Musafir
Summary: Tim doesn't want to go to school anymore. Bruce uses every tool in Batman's arsenal to find out why. Sometimes, his children are harder to crack that Arkham's fiercest criminals.





	Bully For You

**BULLY FOR YOU**

 

“Bruce.” Tim’s quiet voice sounded from seemingly everywhere and Bruce looked up from the mind numbing paperwork and tracked him to the couch that all his children migrated to if they happened to be in his office.  

Bruce offhandedly wondered how long Tim had been quietly sitting there, waiting to be noticed, and when he had wandered in. He kicked himself for being so immersed in the numbers. 

“Hey Tim. What are you doing here?” He asked the small boy. Part of him was grateful for the interruption, and the other part of him kicked his heartbeat up a notch as he wondered if Tim was about to tell him he wasn’t  _ feeling so good _ . 

“I don’t want to go to school anymore.” Tim said, hands clasped in front of him and feet lightly swinging as if they were the outlet to the nervousness Tim was trying to contain. 

Bruce’s mind blanked. Of all the things he had expected Tim to say, this wasn’t one of them. 

“What? Uh, okay. Why?” Bruce asked, trying to recall Tim’s grades and teacher’s reports. As far as he was aware, Tim was getting straight A’s and his teachers were in love with the tiny boy. Bruce even recalled one overly enthusiastic teacher claiming that Tim was ahead of his peers in every subject. 

His own heavily disguised IQ tests came to the same conclusion; Bruce wasn’t about to believe teachers in a school that he funded heavily. 

“Just don’t want to anymore.” Tim said, avoiding eye contact. Which was nothing knew; Tim preferred being around people, but not the center of attention. 

“You have to go to school, kiddo.” Bruce said, pushing his chair back and fully facing Tim. Something was  _ wrong _ . 

“Can Alfred home school me?” Tim asked, like the brilliant child he was; coming to him with a problem  _ and  _ a solution. “I promise I’ll take it very seriously and I won’t let my studies slide.” 

Bruce had no problem believing that. Tim sometimes read Jason’s textbooks for fun. 

“Tell you what. I’ll think about it if you tell me what’s going on.” Bruce said. 

Tim’s expression flattened out into an innocent stare. 

“I just want to try something new.” Tim said, affecting an innocent tone of voice. 

Bruce swallowed and wondered how many times that worked on Janet and Jack, both too busy to realize that their son was an expert manipulator. Honed by their own negligence. 

“Try again.” Bruce said. Internally he started to smile, despite the pooling thoughts of what might be wrong. _ That’s right Tim, I  _ **_love_ ** _ you. I’m not going to fall for it _ . 

Tim looked thrown for a moment, and then to his credit, he seemed to recover nicely. 

“Beg pardon?” 

“I’m not buying it kiddo. Either you tell me whats wrong, or come Monday and I expect to see you downstairs with Dick and Jason at the front door on time.” Bruce hoped the no-nonsense tone he was using would intimidate Tim into speaking. 

“I...I...okay.” 

Bruce blinked, wondering if it was that easy. Then Tim slid forward and landed with a small thump on the floor. He headed towards the door, head barely clearing the top of Bruce’s desk. Bruce watched him go with a baffled expression. 

“Tim.” Bruce called, “Come to me when you’re ready to talk.” 

“Okay, Bruce.” 

And that was that. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Until the next week. 

This time, Bruce saw Tim hover at the door of his office before inviting himself in. In his hands, Tim held a cookie larger than his hand. Bruce waved him in, and motioned for Tim to sit, while he tried to reason with Lucius on the phone. Bruce swung his chair to face the large windows behind his desk and made agreeable noises while Lucius ranted at him. 

A small tug on his sleeve had him looking down to see Tim standing at his elbow holding up half a cookie. Bruce’s heart melted as he accepted the cookie with a smile. He dropped a kiss on top of Tim’s downy hair and pulled him in for a quick side hug. Lucius was a tinny buzzing in his ear until he realized that the buzzing was growing louder and louder and Lucius was calling his name. 

Bruce shot a guilty look at Tim, who laughed silently, as he tried to convince Lucius that he had been listening through a mouthful of chocolate and dough. 

Lucius was not impressed. 

Tim went to go sit quietly on the couch. Bruce watched to make sure he climbed on okay, before giving Lucius his full attention, knowing the man would be listening to hear if he was paying attention. Honestly, it was  _ his  _ company. 

Who was he kidding. 

Half an hour later Bruce’s head was spinning and Lucius finally let him go. Bruce slumped back in his chair and then nearly jumped out of his skin as a small cough sounded about the room. 

He had entirely forgotten that Tim had been in the room. 

“Hey, Tim. Sorry, did you need something, baby?” Bruce asked spinning around to face the small boy, feeling guilty, knowing Tim had been sitting there idly, waiting for him. 

“You said to come back when I was ready to talk.” Tim said. 

It took Bruce a moment, and then the memories came rushing back. The odd, five minute encounter with his small child that he often thought about late at night when he couldn’t sleep, because the day provided him with much larger, pressing challenges. Every parenting book he had paged through told him that he wasn’t allowed to force, or shake, Tim until the boy told him what he needed to know. Bruce might have thrown a few against the wall in anger. 

“Yes I did.” Bruce said, trying to gather his thoughts, and not let it show. 

He had come to a few conclusions regarding Tim’s situation, but didn’t want to lend any of them weight and get  _ riled up _ , as Alfred said, until Tim confirmed. 

All he was saying was that if his precious small child had a problem with a bully, some nine year old out there was going to get a visit from Batman. And it would be  _ inspirational _ . 

“I’ve come to a conclusion.” Tim informed him seriously. 

“Okay, and what’s that?” Bruce asked. 

“I’ve decided I don’t want to tell you.” Tim said.

“...What?” Bruce asked, utterly thrown. All the parenting books said that if he gave Tim enough time and space, the child would come to him with his problem, not  _ this _ . Bruce internally resolved to burn some books tonight. 

“I don’t want to tell you.” Tim repeated, in a clearer voice, as if Bruce had somehow misheard him the first time. 

“You...don’t want to tell me your problem.” Bruce repeated, stalling while his mind raced, trying to figure out what to do now. 

“It's not a problem. I realized I was just treating it like one.” Tim informed him. 

Bruce wondered how this had become his life. There was no way he was equipped to deal with a child as smart and perceptive as Tim. Surely someone had noticed by now and was coming to take the small child away to a place where he could be parented properly. 

The thought struck a cord of unease deep within him. 

“I see.” Bruce said faintly. 

“I’ve realized, I don’t actually mind the circumstance.” Tim said, as if Bruce had any clue as to what was going on. “Therefore, while I wouldn’t mind being home schooled, if you are staunchly against it, I don’t mind trying out my new frame of mind in the interim.” 

Bruce wondered where Tim had learned the word ‘interim’.

“Okay….No, wait. Sorry, what frame of mind is this?”

“I’m not going to let it bother me.” Tim said slowly, the  _ keep up old man _ , silent. 

“Oh...okay.” 

“Okay.” Tim said happily, as if he hadn’t just waited quietly on a couch for thirty minutes to tell him literally nothing. He jumped off the couch with a smile. “I’ll see you later, Bruce.” 

He headed towards the door and Bruce watched him go dumbly. Then Tim paused. 

“B?” 

“Yes, Tim?” 

“If...if my tactic doesn’t work...could I come talk to you again?” A hint of insecurity shone through Tim’s self sufficient demeanor, and Bruce latched on to it like a lifeline. 

“Of course. You know you can come to me with anything, Tim.” Bruce said, trying to suffuse each word with meaning. 

Tim grinned back at him. 

“Thanks B.” 

Then he was gone. 

Bruce counted to ten and then sprung up from his desk to hunt down his other sons. It was time to be a detective and figure out what the hell was wrong with his child. 

He found Dick first, in the gym, hanging upside down from a high pole the Bruce had installed once he realized that his eldest was part monkey. 

“I stretched first!” Dick said automatically, upon seeing Bruce with his pinched expression. 

“What? Oh, good. Get down from there for a minute- _ wait, no don’t _ -...” 

Dick jumped. 

Bruce’s heart shot to his throat as Dick threw in two flips mid air and landed with his arms in the sky as if he was performing for a crowd instead of a panicked father. 

“ _ Dick! _ ” Bruce wondered why the universe appeared to be testing him today. “...Ten out of ten.” 

He had to pick his battles. And for the upcoming conversation he needed Dick in a happy, talkative mood. 

“Thanks B!” The smile Dick shot him had been worth the lecture Bruce had swallowed down. 

“Hey, so listen, I was talking to Tim, have you heard anything about him wanting to be home schooled? Has he talked to you about it?” Bruce asked, hoping he sounded casual and not interrogatory. 

“Home schooled?” There was a look of genuine surprise on Dick’s face. “He hasn’t said anything to me.” 

“But have you noticed anything out of the ordinary at school? Is he getting along okay with the other kids?” Bruce pressed. 

“B…” The look Dick was giving him meant that Bruce was overlooking something major. “You realize I don’t go to the same school as Tim right? He’s in the fourth grade. I’m in my junior year of high school.” 

“....Right. I know that. But...Gotham…”

“How about this. Tim goes to Gotham Prep. I go to Gotham  _ Academy _ . But, you know who else goes to Gotham Prep?”

“Jason?” 

“Good job on parenting today, B. You get all the prizes.” 

“Don’t take that tone with me, young man.” Bruce said, trying to inject his tone with something halfway scolding. 

“I was being honest!” 

“Sure you were. Speaking of your brother…” 

“Jay’s reading in the greenhouse.” 

“Great. Thanks Dick.” 

“Later B!”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Hey, Jaybird. What are you reading?” 

“I ain’t telling you nuthin ‘bout Timmy. I ain’t no snitch.” Jason responded, not even looking up from his copy of Artemis Fowl. 

“What? How-” Bruce stopped short, baffled. 

A phone was waved in his face, screen glowing. Bruce frowned mentally at Dick. He caught the waving hand gently. 

“Jay, this is serious, I really need you to listen to me.” Bruce said, with a note of urgency. As he suspected, it got Jason to look up. 

Bruce sat on the other side of the table, so that he wasn’t looming over his son. 

“Whatsa matter with Timmy?” Jason asked. 

“I was hoping you would tell me.” Bruce looked his son in his eyes. “Has he talked to you about getting home schooled? Has he said anything about  _ why  _ he wants to?”  

Jason hesitated. 

Bruce knew that he was on the right track. 

“Come on, Jay. I know you care about Tim, and I know you want to protect him, but wouldn’t it be better if both of us were in on it? That way I could be there when you aren’t?” 

“I’m always going to be there for Timmy!” Jason replied fiercely.  

Bruce mentally backtracked. 

“Of course you are, Jay, of course. I just meant, like if you have school trips or something. You can’t take Tim on those. Wouldn’t it be better to have one other person that knows what's going on?” 

Jason mulled his words over. His finger traced the pattern on the book and Bruce waited patiently. He had learned early on that there was no rushing Jason. 

“I took care of it B.” Jason finally said. The words shot a pang of alarm through Bruce, and he struggled to keep his composure. 

“What did you take care of, Jay?” 

“Some kids...Timmy’s different you know? He’s quiet and polite and he likes ta read, an’ not only at home like I do it.” 

“Right.” Bruce said, as if he understood entirely. 

“So, some of the kids don’t get him. Because he smells nice and he’s clean. And he’s got that long hair, and they called him pretty-”

“Wait, what?” Bruce wondered how many more left turns this investigation was going to take. 

“They think he’s a girl, B.” Jason said. 

“What?” 

“They think he’s a-”

“No, no. I heard. I’m trying to...process.” 

Tim wasn’t being bullied. Tim was being...Bruce had no idea what to call it. No wonder Tim hadn’t wanted to tell him what was going on. The poor child was probably too embarrassed. 

“But I took care ‘a it.” Jason said, breaking his line of thought. 

“You did?” Bruce asked faintly, “How?” He wondered if he was going to be getting a call from the headmaster anytime soon. 

“Jus’ did.” 

“Jay…”

“B. Come on.” And that was a note of pleading in Jason’s voice that Bruce so rarely heard. 

“Jay, I-”

“I took care a’ it the way you taught us to!” Jason defended himself. “With  _ words _ . I didn’t punch no one, an’ no one got hurt. An’ Timmy’s happy with it. So it's fine now.” 

Bruce desperately wanted to know what his child had done. 

But. 

Jason was looking at him beseechingly, asking Bruce silently to  _ trust him _ . So it was with a heavy heart that Bruce resigned himself to never come to a conclusion on this case.

“Okay, Jay. Okay. I trust you. Thank you for looking out for your brother. I appreciate it.” 

“I didn’t do it for you.” Jason mumbled, cheeks pinking slightly under the praise. 

Bruce stood up and mussed Jason’s hair lightly, gently pulling him into a hug that Jason tolerated for three seconds and then pulled away. 

“I still appreciate it. You’ll let me know if you need me? I’m always here even if you feel that you have everything handled.” 

“Yeah yeah, I know. Yer always lurking.” Jason shot him a grin. 

Bruce rolled his eyes. 

“Don’t stay out here too long Jaybird, dinner’s in an hour.” 

“See you inside, B.” 

When Bruce turned to look at his child from the doorway of the greenhouse, Jason was already immersed into his book. Bruce closed the door quietly and walked back to the manor. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> And then in a few years....
> 
> "What did you say to those children who were bothering Tim about being girly all those years ago?" 
> 
> "Oh them? Threatened to break their kneecaps and give their names to all the gangsters I used to run with before B picked me up." 
> 
> "JASON!" 
> 
> XDDD


End file.
